DES MOINES, Iowa – A slow start gave the Springfield Armor a loss Wednesday night. Friday night, it was their poor finish that left them with a 105-89 setback to the Iowa Energy.

Springfield (8-18) opened with a 15-6 run that included a 12-2 rebounding edge, but the Energy were simply tired of losing seven straight over the last three weeks, which also led to a coaching change. A 22-7 run in the fourth quarter gave them their first win of 2013.

The Armor were just trying to rebound from a 107-100 loss at Tulsa, but that didn’t work out, their early edge on the glass also going up in smoke as Iowa ended up outrebounding them 56-55.

“Springfield was relentless by crashing the boards tonight,” said Bruce Wilson, who was named coach of the Energy Thursday. “They have some guys down there who are hungry on the glass, and they certainly showed that to start out.”

Two Armor players – James Mays and Ben Uzoh – had 10 rebounds, but most came in the first half, Mays snatching seven and Uzoh six.

It was certainly the first half the Armor wanted, but not the second they were expecting.

Energy guard Othyus Jeffers took offense to some trash talking from a few Armor players, responding with a game-high 20 points.

“They kept calling me old,” Jeffers said. “I’m not old yet; I can still play with these young guys.”

Jeffers has battled knee problems, but after throwing down a flat-footed dunk in the third quarter, he knows where he belongs.